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Salem Historical Church
28547 220th St, Paynesville MN 56362
We invite you to join us for an Old Fashioned Salem Christmas on December 16th, 2023. Mark your calendars for a great family event. Horse drawn wagon rides begin at 3pm, continuing until 4:15. Celebrating the birth of Jesus, singing Christmas carols, special musical numbers, cookies, cider and treat bags will all be part of the program which starts at 4:30.

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On January 3, 1998, the name was officially changed to 'The Salem Historical Church & Cemetery Association, Inc'. The non-profit corporation has IRS 501(c)(3) status. Donations made to the Salem Church are tax deductible.

In 1997 after a 30 year absence, a Christmas program was held at Salem Church. Two new furnaces were installed and now an old-fashioned Christmas program can again be held each year. People bring gifts of food for the local food shelf and enjoy creating new traditions with their families.


Salem Church is visible to all for miles around. This photo was taken from the top of the Wegner's silo just a mile to the north.
Salem Church was closed to regular Sunday worship services in 1968. Many weddings are still held each year at the church and an occasional funeral.

The folks in this hot air balloon had a great view of Salem one fine September day.
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Salem Christmas 2020

A Call to Action

Salem, a Story of a Country Church
Check out the three videos below full of Salem history. The Salem Christmas video was created in December of 2020 to take the place of our annual Christmas program during the pandemic. The next video is about Lowell Gess and his work to fight Ebola in Sierre Leone. The third one was produced by Appleton Public TV Channel 10 in 1997. It features Bill Holm, an author and public speaker as well as some of our own Salem people. We hope you enjoy watching these!